Daily Herald opinion: Local governments don't always have to build

This editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board

Rosemont is snapping up a "used" building in the village to turn into a new government center, and we can only hope a trend is in the making.

The village found itself in need of a new village hall and public safety headquarters after selling the current digs on Devon Avenue to Northfield-based Saxony Properties earlier this year. The village hall is across from the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, making the property too valuable to be left off the tax rolls. Village personnel have to be out by June 2024, and officials originally intended to use the next two years to build a nice new police station just north of the Allstate Arena, along with a three-story village hall in the Pearl District, 54,000 square feet of office and restaurant space near both the Metra and Rosemont CTA stations.

But it's never too late to change your mind. This week the Rosemont village board officially scrapped the whole idea. Construction costs have gone through the roof, says Mayor Brad Stephens, making the project untenable.

Instead, village officials agreed to buy the four-story Cisco Building on Technology Boulevard near the Fashion Outlets of Chicago mall. It became vacant when Cisco moved into the Old Post Office in Chicago last year.

Undoubtedly, a new Rosemont Village Hall would have been beautiful, and a source of pride for residents. But there is something to be said for taking a vacant building in the heart of a community and turning it into an important part of the municipal landscape - a place residents will come to and use. With no buyers in sight, Rosemont did a smart thing and invested in itself.

The other huge benefit to this new plan is money. Rosemont estimates saving $50 million by buying and renovating the Cisco building, instead of building new.

"We looked at buying this once before and passed because we thought we could do it for cheaper," Stephens told Christopher Placek. "We couldn't, especially when construction pricing went through the roof."

To prepare for the construction they had planned on, Rosemont bought up around 20 light industrial buildings near the Allstate Arena, often at $350,000 apiece. They also spent millions on architectural design fees, using two different firms to draw the plans.

But even with the money already spent, Rosemont saves millions.

Moreover, the village government offices and fire and police headquarters will all be located there, along with a boardroom, business innovation center and space devoted to Rosemont history. The statue of founding Mayor Donald E. Stephens - now in the courtyard of the current village hall - likely will go inside the lobby.

Not every community can do what Rosemont has done when it outgrows a municipal center and needs to find more space. But Rosemont shows us that sometimes renovating, instead of building, can at least be considered.